Decision & Control Seminar: Prof. Zahra Aminzare
- Sponsor
- Decision and Control Laboratory, Coordinated Science Laboratory
- Speaker
- Prof. Zahra Aminzare, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics at the University of Iowa
- Contact
- Daniel Liberzon
- liberzon@illinois.edu
- Views
- 3
- Originating Calendar
- CSL Decision and Control Group
Title: Rhythm Generation and Control in Insect Locomotion: A Dynamical Systems Perspective
Abstract: Locomotion in animals emerges from complex interactions between neural control, musculoskeletal dynamics, and environmental forces, and can be viewed as a network of coupled nonlinear systems generating coordinated rhythmic outputs. While stable rhythmic patterns (limit cycles) can be generated intrinsically within neural circuits, feedback plays a critical role in enhancing their stability, robustness to perturbations, and adaptability in locomotion.
In this talk, focusing on locomotion in the stick insect, we first adopt a feedforward perspective to study the mechanisms underlying the generation and control of stepping patterns from the intrinsic dynamics of neural circuits. In particular, we consider a biologically grounded model of central pattern generator (CPG) networks for the metathoracic segment of the middle leg, formulated as an 18-dimensional system of synaptically coupled ordinary differential equations. Using tools from nonlinear dynamical systems, including fast-slow decomposition, we identify mechanisms that give rise to stable, robust, and flexible multi-phase stepping rhythms.
Time permitting, we then incorporate feedback and move to a closed-loop setting, investigating how interactions between neural circuitry and biomechanics shape and stabilize single-leg stepping patterns. These results suggest principles for the design of distributed rhythmic controllers in legged robotic systems.
Bio: Dr. Zahra Aminzare is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Iowa, with affiliations in the Applied Mathematical and Computational Sciences Program and the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience and is a member of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute. Her research lies at the intersection of applied dynamical systems and mathematical biology, with a focus on neural and biomechanical systems. Prior to joining the University of Iowa, she was a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics (PACM) at Princeton University (2015-2018). She received her Ph.D. in Mathematics from Rutgers University in 2015 and her B.Sc. from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, in 2007.
Location & Time: CSLB02, April 8, 3-4PM. Reception at 2:30PM outside B02.